Meek Mill Threatened With Arrest At Las Vegas Hotel
Meek Mill was denied entrance into the Las Vegas Cosmopolitan Hotel—and he has no idea why.
According to TMZ, the Philly rapper arrived at the establishment Saturday at around 3:30 p.m. local time to see a Mustard concert; however, hotel security informed him that he was not allowed on the premises, and that if he tried to enter, he would be arrested.
"Here's the deal. You're on private property," a Cosmopolitan employee told Meek. "At this time, with the information that we have, we're refusing to do business with you. We have the right to do that."
Meek then asked the guard why they had threatened him with an arrest, and questioned the reasoning behind the ban.
The employee's response? "We have the right to do that."
Meek posted a video of the exchange on Instagram. He accompanied the clip with a caption that accused the hotel/casino of "extreme racism."
"Some of these casinos have a bunch of [tactics] to keep the level of blacks down ... but love to take our money!" he wrote. "This happens to a lot of black entertainers not just me [...]"
Meek's attorney, Joe Tacopina, told TMZ that the order came from "a well-placed person inside the hotel." He also echoed Meek's belief that the ban was racially motivated.
In a letter obtained by the news outlet, Tacopina has demanded the Cosmopolitan issue an apology to Meek—or face legal action.
The letter reads in part:
"... we have learned that the Cosmopolitan maintains a list of African American recording artists who should be denied access for no other reason than than their culture and skin color. Such course of conduct constitutes discrimination per se, in violation of state and federal law, and exposes you to significant monetary damages [...] we urge you to promptly issue an apology to Mr. Williams and grant him immediate access. In the event you fail to heed this one and only warning, we intend to pursue all legal recourse against you."